


and in the golden sun we'll feel alright

by nervousbakedown



Category: Crooked Media RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lifeguards, Dialogue Heavy, Ensemble Cast, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Romantic Comedy, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervousbakedown/pseuds/nervousbakedown
Summary: In an alternate California, Tommy starts a new life in a picturesque beach town. His new coworkers are unlike any people he's ever met before. Will he reject a good thing, as he is used to doing, or embrace it? A feel-good tale of self-discovery, love, and quippy dialogue among pals.
Relationships: Jon Favreau/Jon Lovett/Tommy Vietor
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29
Collections: Crooked Exchange 2020





	and in the golden sun we'll feel alright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bigpunktapes (biggayghost)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/biggayghost/gifts).

> The prompt was an AU, a world away from our own - I hope you enjoy this escape! 
> 
> Big thanks to B and H for beta-ing.

The sky above Tommy is a perfect blue. Actually, it’s more like a teal. A far cry from the sky above Cape Cod. It’s only his second day in Southern California, and he’s on his way to his first day of work at the beach. 

Spindrift Beach is a newer seaside community off the coast of California. Tommy didn’t choose it; they were simply the ones who hired him. As Tommy understands it, the bigger city it was once part of decided to let it go after more funding for coastal revitalization was included in the Green New Deal. Less pollution, more wildlife, and more lifeguards to patrol and protect the shores and the people on them. Apparently, the beaches in California really looked as nice as the images on postcards now. Tommy hopes his new home-away-from-home lives up to the hype.

Tommy stops at a red light on the main street of town. He can hear the beach in the background, can see it in the distance amidst the palm trees and the arched walkways inbetween the cream-white storefronts. It’s just after 6 o’clock in the morning and already so bright. He pulls his sunglasses down from the crown of his head to cover his eyes. They don’t do much to stop him from squinting. He’ll have to get a stronger pair to help him adjust to the sun out here. Back home in Cape Cod, it gets sunny, yes, but this is different. This is advanced sun. Tommy catches a glance at his own forearm as he grips the steering wheel, before the light turns green. He’s so pale! Especially compared to the people strolling the sidewalk, on their scooters. He is definitely going to look like a fish out of water on patrol. 

Ah, there comes that nervousness again. Look, Tommy isn’t one to admit he’s nervous, or any kind of anxious. He never told any of his friends back home how nervous he actually was to move out here. It was only excitement - excitement to be in a new place, start a new life after being dumped by his fiance, the only girl he’d ever loved, for some asshole lawyer from Chatham who doesn’t even really love her. It was fine! He’d always wanted to move out west anyway!

What way was he supposed to be going to the beach access again? Oh, right. One more right turn. Those pesky butterflies in Tommy’s stomach flutter as he turns into the parking lot. There aren’t many cars, only a couple. That’s when Tommy remembers that people in Southern California don’t really drive anymore, not after the new streetcar and the government bought Uber. Dammit. Tommy pinches the bridge of his nose. He wants to fit in, not be the asshole with a car!

_Deep breaths, Vietor_, Tommy tells himself. He looks himself over in the mirror. He should probably slather on some sunblock. He’s still a half hour early, he has time. Usually he does it before leaving so it can soak in, but he’s all discombobulated. His old routine as a lifeguard on the Cape just isn’t going to work. Everything’s new here. New new new. 

Another deep breath. Tommy is supposed to report to the biggest lifeguard tower, painted bright teal. That’s becoming a theme, teal. It’s that color that is in between blue and green, and somehow very bright. That one. It’s a nice color, Tommy thinks. 

Now or never. Tommy gets out of the car, keys and wallet in hand, his whistle around his neck. He’s wearing a cutoff pale blue t-shirt and red board shorts. No doubt the lifeguards here have their own get up, but this should do for at least today. 

Tommy starts down the path toward the tower. As soon as his sandal-clad feet hit the sand, he feels more at ease. Is there anything more comforting than sand in the morning, before the sun makes it too hot to walk on? When Tommy was little, he was very sensitive to hot sand. He’d cry if he had to walk on it, and he’d make his mom or dad pick him up and carry him. Now, as a newly-minted person-in-his-30s, he usually says the f-word a bunch of times. 

The beach is dotted with people, mostly the early-morning exercise crowd. Tommy turns his head to his left and sees a group of five people doing yoga. He’s almost at the biggest lifeguard tower. Beside the tower, a small ATV sits.

A man comes down the stairs of the tower in a hurry just before Tommy arrives. He’s about Tommy’s height, but more lean than Tommy, more tan. He’s dark-haired and shirtless, with a hairless chest, not that defined muscle-wise but still obviously strong. A swimmer’s body. His shorts are red like Tommy’s, but much shorter. He stands beside the ATV and puts his sunglasses up on top of his head before smiling and waving at Tommy. 

Tommy waves back. “Uh, hi.”

“Hello!” the man says once Tommy stops in front of him. “You must be Tommy.”

“That’s me.”

“I’m Jon. Nice to meet you,” the man says, holding out his hand for Tommy to shake. Tommy takes it. It’s a nice handshake - what more is there to say about a handshake?

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“This is it,” Jon gestures to the lifeguard outpost with a good-hearted laugh. “Your new office.”

Tommy laughs with him. So far, Jon is making him less nervous. “I’m excited.”

“Great!” Jon smiles. His brown eyes are sparkly. 

Jon goes on to explain that this isn’t really where Tommy will be stationed, but it’s the main post for their section of beach. Jon stays here, and it’s the hub where he, Tommy and some other guy named Lovett keep their stuff and congregate. 

“You’ll like Lovett, he’s so funny. A lot to handle, but so funny,” Jon says once they're up in the modest tower. Tommy has a little cubbyhole to put his wallet and keys in. Tommy surveys the beach from where Jon would normally sit. It’s not that high up, but it’s enough for a great view of a gorgeous coastline. He sees two smaller towers, one to the left about a mile and one to the right. 

“It’s nice, huh?” Jon agrees with Tommy. Tommy is a little startled. Did he hear his thoughts or something? Weird. 

Jon puts his sunglasses back into place. “You wanna go meet Lovett?”

It doesn’t seem like Tommy has much choice in the matter. 

“Yeah, sure!”

They take the ATV down the short mile-drive to see Lovett. Tommy sits on the back, holds on to the rack in the back to try to keep a respectful distance from his new colleague. 

“We could just walk, of course, but you wanna be able to get back up there if we’re needed. Don’t worry, we have someone on your post for now,” Jon explains.

A couple minutes later, they’re at Lovett’s post. His tower is painted pink, with a pink umbrella rather than an actual shelter. Lovett comes down from the tower at the same time Jon turns off the engine and Tommy climbs off the back. 

“This our new recruit?” Lovett says. He wears a cut-off t-shirt not that far off from Tommy’s, and blue mini board shorts. So far, the only requirement Tommy has observed for the guards here is tiny shorts. 

“Yep. From good ol’ Massachusetts,” Jon says. 

“Oh, great, just what we need, another one of those,” Lovett smiles. He’s wearing sunglasses, plastic Ray Bans that are kind of like Tommy’s as well. 

Tommy thinks he knows what Lovett means but is confused. “Huh?” 

“I’m from Massachusetts, too. Near Boston,” Jon says. 

Tommy grins. “No shit! Wow, I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“I’ve been gone a long time,” Jon jokes. 

“Hey, you can take the boy out of Boston…” Tommy trails off. 

“Still a Masshole at heart,” Jon smiles. Tommy notices he has a gap between his shiny, bright front teeth. Tommy stares at it for a moment before Lovett demands his attention. Lovett has curly dark brown hair that ruffles in the breeze and is considerably shorter than Jon. He’s also not as skinny, and Tommy finds he likes that, seeing someone with a similar build as himself.

“Ugh, okay. Well, Tommy, welcome to your new home away from home, where work and play blur together so seamlessly you don’t even realize it!” Lovett says. 

“Is that a bad thing or a good thing?” Tommy asks, squinting in the sun. 

“Uhh -” Jon starts. 

Lovett takes the question. “We’ll let you decide for yourself.”

Jon takes Tommy back up the beach on the ATV. Jon shows him around to the public restrooms and rinse-off shower, the recycling bins. There’s not much to show, really, Jon explains. Tommy has guarded before, so he knows what he means - you have to patrol everywhere, but mostly, you’re going to be looking at the ocean. 

“Well,” Jon sighs. “You wanna go see your tree?”

“Tree?” Tommy raises an eyebrow. 

“Your tower, your post. We call them ‘trees’ most of the time. Lovett started it,” Jon rolls his eyes even though he’s clearly fond of the concept. 

“Of course,” Tommy laughs. 

Back onto the ATV, a mile in the other direction. 

“Wait, who’s watching your section?” Tommy asks Jon once they arrive at their destination. 

“Lovett’s got it. It’s still pretty early, he can run fast. We’ll be okay,” Jon explains. Tommy trusts him. 

“Oh, also - ATV? Really? Thought we were supposed to be cutting down on our fossil fuels,” Tommy says. 

Jon pats the seat of the four-wheeler like it’s his trusty steed. It kind of is. “This is the most fuel-efficient ATV out there right now. I haven’t filled up her tank in a month.”

Tommy puts his hands up in defense. “Alright, okay.”

They both laugh and look up at the tower - the tree, Tommy’s tree. It’s bright yellow and, like Lovett’s, has a big umbrella rather than an actual roof. In it is a man wearing a San Francisco Giants cap, Ray Bans, and a cut-off t-shirt. It takes him a second to notice Tommy and Jon’s arrival. 

“Yo, Dan!” Jon shouts. 

“Well, hello,” Dan says without getting up. “Is this the new guy?”

“Yes, this is Tommy,” Jon says. 

Tommy waves at Dan. “I’m Tommy.”

“You are Tommy,” Dan nods. “I’m Dan.”

“Hello, Dan,” Tommy replies. 

Jon turns to Tommy and speaks to him softly, like he doesn’t want Dan to hear. “Dan usually works in the town office, but when we need an extra hand, we call him. He started out in a tree just like us.”

Tommy nods, glancing up at Dan. He seems cool enough. 

“He’s the best lifeguard this beach has ever seen!” Jon adds, suspiciously loud. 

“And don’t you forget it,” Dan agrees. 

Tommy laughs, and Jon laughs. Tommy feels… good. Really good. All the butterflies in his stomach seem to have flown away. So far, so good. 

Tommy and Jon head back to Jon’s post, the main one. Apparently, Tommy is stuck with Jon today. That’s their protocol for your first day, and why Dan was in Tommy’s place. Jon explains that it makes more sense to make a new person feel at home, rather than just stick them in their tree and leave them all alone. 

“Wow. Sounds like the opposite of my experience in Chatham,” Tommy leans on the finished wood. He and Jon are standing in Jon’s tower as they talk. 

“Yeah?” Jon asks, like he wants to know more. 

“Yeah. Lots of turnover. No supervision. I had to de facto be in charge of all these nineteen-year-olds. Crazy,” Tommy watches two women, short with gray-streaked hair, walk down the beach where the water makes the sand wet, holding hands. 

“Wow. I mean, hey, that experience stood out on your application,” Jon smiles. 

“You looked at it?”

Jon reaches for his water bottle leaning up against the wall, unscrews the lid. “I peeked.”

“Did you just want another guy from Mass to keep you company?” Tommy jokes. He finds it easy to joke with Jon. 

“Lovett peaked too,” Jon says. “He liked you too.”

“Where’s he from?”

“Long Island.”

“Ah,” Tommy nods. That explains some of what he’s observed in Lovett so far. 

They sit in silence for a while, Tommy on a folding chair next to Jon’s permanent one. Tommy leans forward so he doesn't miss anything. There’s a whole lot of nothing, infraction-wise – casual beachgoers and joggers and people laying out on their funky-colored towels. The thing about patrol, Tommy realized a while back, is you can’t be looking and waiting for people to do wrong. Can’t just sit there all day with your whistle in your mouth, ready to blow it. But you have to be ready if you need to, whether it’s to tell someone to pick up their trash, or to save their life. 

Later in the morning, people start to swim. Tommy pays even closer attention to the water. That’s why he’s here, ultimately. The stakes are higher once people take to the water. 

“Do you like to listen to music on patrol?” Tommy asks Jon. 

“Sometimes,” Jon says. “Mostly just podcasts.”

“I prefer music,” Tommy says. As of right now, they aren’t listening to anything in Jon’s tree. “I get too lost in the conversation people are having on podcasts.”

“Lovett’s like that,” Jon says. “I’ve learned to... compartmentalize.”

“But if it’s like, a boring talk show, or sports radio, that’s different,” Tommy says. 

“Yeah, I like listening to Dodgers day games,” Jon says. 

Tommy’s about to see if there’s a game they could tune into when Jon stands up. Tommy sees what he sees - someone is swimming awfully far out into the ocean. There’s buoys set up that show how far you can go, and the person is right at it. Jon waits a second to see if they’ll stop and come back. They don’t; choosing to stay out there. Not wise. 

Jon tweets his whistle. Deafening, lifeguard whistles are. Tommy had forgotten what they sound like when you’re close, but you're not the one blowing it. Jon makes the arm motion that means “come back” – a big, exaggerated gesture to the person out in the water can see it. Usually, you have to do it a few times, and this time was no exception. Finally, Jon gets the person to swim closer to shore, a good few yards closer. The water shimmers in the sun. It’s only going to get more shimmery as they approach high noon.

“The ever-confident lonesome swimmer, going as far as they can go,” Jon tsks under his breath. “The ocean doesn’t care that you had a diving scholarship in college, guy.”

“You tell ‘em,” Tommy laughs and takes a sip from his Hydroflask.

Jon looks at Tommy. “Where did you go to college?” 

They have the college conversation, the general-upbringing conversation, their eyes glued to the beach. Tommy does occasionally sneak a glance at Jon, though. He feels like he has to - his face is so interesting. Tommy can’t say he’s ever felt this drawn to a man’s face before. Well, besides that one guy in his sophomore “Introduction to Kantian Ethics” class. Brown eyed, dark-haired six-foot angel, that guy was. 

Jon and Tommy have a lot of similarities, and a lot of differences. Okay, that doesn’t mean much. Let’s try that again - Jon and Tommy have a similar demeanor and work ethic, it seems. Tommy doesn’t know him that well yet, but as far as the differences go, Jon is more... outwardly soft than he is. 

“You wanna go visit Lovett? Oh, did you bring lunch?” Jon asks eventually. 

“Yes. And no - shit, forgot,” Tommy replies. 

“No worries. Don’t forget tomorrow. Even if it’s like a protein shake or something. Can’t be passing out in your tree,” Jon shrugs. 

The beach isn’t that busy, Jon says, so they decide to walk to Lovett’s end. Tommy asks him about the volume of people typical for their beach. Apparently, this is a typical Wednesday. Surprising that they hire so many people then. Tommy still isn’t used to how public spaces are appropriately staffed now. God bless the Green New Deal.

When they get closer to Lovett’s post, they notice Lovett talking with a beachgoer, quite animated. Jon looks at Tommy with big eyes, exasperated yet a little concerned, and breaks into a jog. Tommy copies him, follows him. Never a dull moment - even on day one!

“...and I politely reminded you not to throw the ball into the ocean. That’s it!” Lovett says to the man as they approach.

“What’s going on?” Jon asks Lovett, hands on his hips. 

“Oh, hey, Jon. I just have someone here who doesn’t like how I do my job.”

“Okay,” Jon rolls his eyes. “What happened?”

The beachgoer - a short man in his forties, probably - starts talking at the same time as Lovett. Lovett backs down, lets him go first. 

“I was playin’ catch with my kid and he says I can’t do that,” the man says. 

“Jon, he threw the ball directly into the water. A plastic ball!” Lovett says. 

“Sorry sir. No unattended balls in the ocean,” Jon chimes in. 

Tommy purses his lips, trying not to giggle. 

“I threw it in there so my kid could go get it, what’s wrong with that?” the man says, arms flailing as he gestures to the ocean and his kids a few feet away. 

“It could be taken out by the tide and be unretrievable, then it’s pollution, and we don’t want that,” Jon explains, calm and collected. 

“Well, alright,” the man says, taking that for an answer. Tommy was expecting more of a fight. 

With that, Jon bids the beachgoer adieu. “Have a good day, sir.”

Once he’s out of earshot, Lovett turns to Jon and Tommy. They stand in a triangular formation. Jon occasionally glances around to make sure they’re not missing anything. 

“You said the exact same thing I did! Unbelievable,” Lovett crosses his arms.

“Okay, but how did you say it? We’ve been over this,” Jon says. 

Tommy can see what’s up here. “Is, uh - is someone not good at talking to patrons?”

“I am good at it, but not when people are stupid,” Lovett says. 

Tommy laughs, amused. “You kinda sound like me.”

“Oh great, I’m going to have to conflict resolve for you, too?” Jon says to Tommy. 

Tommy shrugs. The sun is high in the sky. It’s noon, or pretty close to it. 

“I’ll try my best not to troll anyone.” 

Jon, bless his heart, shares some of his lunch with Tommy back at the main outpost. Tommy feels weird about it at first, but Jon insists, and so far, Tommy finds it hard to say no to Jon. Like the boy from philosophy class – it’s the eyes. 

Tommy hasn’t found a man attractive in a while. It’s kind of refreshing – he’d been happily committed to his ex for so long, and Tommy is the type to not have eyes for anyone other than his partner. But now, without her, it’s a whole new world. He’s seeing people again, literally. So, yes – Jon is very attractive. Tommy vows to himself, as he reaches into a bag of veggie chips Jon is holding out for him, that he won’t develop a crush on Jon, won’t let it interfere with his work. He already likes this job, likes these people. He has to give this new life an honest chance, and he can’t have his own hopeless heart ruin it. 

The day winds down without Tommy having to blow his whistle. Jon doesn’t again either. Tommy can make out Dan half-chirp his down on his end, but can’t make out for what. Their day ends when the afternoon shift lifeguards show up - to Jon’s tree, so they can greet Tommy. Once again, Tommy feels so welcomed, feels the contrast between this job and his old one so starkly. The evening crew are two guys, a blonde named Travis and a brunette named Elijah, and a girl, a tan brunette named Priyanka. The three seem to be good buddies and are warm with Tommy.

Travis is excited about Tommy. “Look at this guy - another member of the Pale Gang!”

“Oof, that sounds bad,” Priyanka replies with a laugh. Everyone laughs and cringes at the same time. 

“How about something like, the Blond Boys,” Tommy suggests. 

“That works,” Travis says, reaching out to fist-bump Tommy.

Lovett runs over, then, to tell Tommy goodnight. “...or, good afternoon, I guess. And uh…” Lovett looks down at the sand. “Good job.”

Tommy smiles at Lovett. For the first time today, he’s without his sunglasses. His eyes are nice, too. Soulful brown, like Jon’s. He’s damn attractive in his own way. What the hell.

“Thanks,” Tommy says. 

Tommy, Lovett and Jon walk off the beach together, in the same direction until Tommy turns to go to the parking lot. 

“Bye, Tommy! Wait – you drove?!” Jon shouts when they’re a considerable distance apart. 

“Uh, yeah? Sorry!” Tommy replies. 

“Oh, it’s okay!” Jon says.

Lovett chimes in. “Do you carpool? It’s okay if you carpool!” 

Tommy flushes in embarrassment. “N-no!”

“You can drive us home! That’s carpooling!” Jon says. They’re all still shouting for some reason. 

Tommy brings his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. Quicker than putting his sunglasses back on. “Do you live nearby!?” 

“Yeah!” Jon and Lovett answer at the same time. 

That’s when they finally go over to Tommy, and they walk up to the path to the parking lot. Jon tells Tommy that his and Lovett’s separate apartments - he puts emphasis on separate - are in the building on Seal Street. Tommy remembers seeing that street when he was driving around his own neighborhood. It must be nearby. 

“Well, get in,” Tommy says. Jon takes shotgun, Lovett sits in the back. 

“This car’s electric, by the way, so, like -” Tommy defends himself as he starts the engine. 

Lovett and Jon just laugh. 

They drive across town, and less than ten minutes later Tommy finds their apartment building. It’s Medittearanean-inspired architecture, well-maintained with plenty of plants.

“Do, um,” Tommy is nervous before they get out, full of butterflies like he had in his car eight hours ago. “Do you want me to pick you guys up tomorrow?” 

Lovett looks at Jon through the space between the backseat and front. They silently communicate for a moment before Jon nods in Tommy’s direction. “Yeah, that’d be great, Tommy.”

“Carpooling!” Lovett cheers. 

“Awesome, cool,” Tommy says. His face flushes for some reason. 

“See you tomorrow!” Jon says. 

Tommy tells them goodbye, and watches them get out of the car. They walk together through the gate, up the path, and inside the building, totally in sync. Tommy wonders where their apartments are in relation to each other, but then chastises himself, because that’s a weird thing to wonder about people you just met. 

Tommy is tempted to drive around the neighborhood before going home, but decides that’s wasteful when he can just walk. He goes back to his apartment, a spacious one-bedroom. He changes out of his lifeguard get up and into a blue t-shirt and grey chino shorts. It’s June 1st, and already his pants have been pushed to the back of his closet. It’s not even technically summer yet, but it’s a hot one already. 

Tommy lives in an apartment above a cafe. The place is nice for the price – apparently a lot of people don’t want to live above bustling businesses. Tommy doesn’t mind, especially since he’s at work during the cafe’s peak hours anyway. Tommy goes down the stairs, out the small door in the cafe so he can say hi to the baristas, and then out the front entrance. 

Spindrift Beach’s main street is quaint, similar to the infamous New England small town, but in a different way. It’s a different feel. The colors are different, deeper. Brighter, bolder. The ethnic diversity of the population is evident. Most streets have a Spanish name. This is the first small town that seceded from a bigger one Tommy has ever been in, and it’s pretty great. Tommy walks up and down the street both ways, north and south, and has a good feeling about the future. 

~

Tommy arrives outside Lovett and Jon’s apartment complex at six-forty. He sits for a long few minutes, wondering if he was too early, fearing that they might not come out at all. Of course, they do end up coming out - at six-forty-three, against the pink morning sky, the two men walk down the stone path with a closeness that makes Tommy wonder what their history is. 

It’s only day two, Tommy tells his conscience. You have plenty of time to figure it out. 

“Morning, Tom,” Jon says upon opening the passenger seat door. 

“Good morning,” Tommy replies. 

“Morning,” Lovett says. His tone is considerably less perky than Jon’s. 

“So - not a morning person?” Tommy looks at Lovett from the rearview mirror as he peels out onto the road. 

“Nope, Jon is not a morning person,” Jon says. 

Wait, what?

“That’s right, Jon, this Jon is not a morning person,” Lovett yawns. He puts his seatbelt on, having forgotten to before they took off. 

The gears turn in Tommy’s brain. “Is your real name Jon?”

“Yeah - did you not tell him my name?” Lovett picks on Jon.

“I just referred to you as Lovett, like most of us do - sorry!” Jon replied. 

Banter, banter, banter. So much banter. Luckily, Tommy finds it easy to keep up with. Easy and entertaining and like he could slip in and be part of it without missing a beat. That realization stirs something in Tommy’s heart, but he quickly ignores it. Now is not the time!

Lovett leans forward between the front two seats of the car. “Okay, so - my real name is Jonathan, and so is his, but we both go by Jon. But that makes two Jons, so I go by Lovett, which is my last name. Occasionally he’s Favreau, which is his last name, but really only Dan and our friend Ben call him that. Get all that?”

Tommy nods. They’re close to the beach already. 

“Yes,” Tommy says. “Got it. I won’t forget.”

“I called you ‘Tom,’ is that okay?” Jon asks. 

Tommy smiles. “Yeah.”

“Hmm. I’m not calling you that,” Lovett sits back in his seat. 

“Fine by me,” Tommy smiles, feeling warm. 

It’s Tommy’s first day in his yellow lifeguard tower by himself. His tree, as the Jons say. Before he went over to his new perch, Jon told him that they alternate who does the beginning-of-day tasks like setting up the public lounge chairs and turning on the valve for the rinse-off shower. Lovett does them today; tomorrow it will be Tommy. Jon also gave him a walkie talkie. 

“We use these to talk. Lot easier than constantly going back and forth between the trees,” Jon said. 

“So why’d you cart me all over the place yesterday?” Tommy asked. 

Jon shrugged. “Just to get you used to the lay of the land. If Dan were here, he’d encourage you to take the four-wheeler for a spin occasionally, but you don’t have to. Between all three of us, we can see everything.”

“Honestly, if it’s a slow day, I might take it,” Tommy smiled, and took the walkie. 

So now Tommy is in his bright yellow perch under his umbrella, Ray Bans on, wearing an old University of Virginia swimming and diving t-shirt cut-off into a muscle tee. Tommy collected shirts over the years from various meets, camps and competitions. His ex would buy t-shirts from various school teams for birthdays and holiday gifts. At first Tommy hated it, because it reminded him of how he never got into those schools with more revered S&D programs. But since becoming a lifeguard, he got more secure in his own skin, and proud of being a Kenyon alumnus. And he has plenty of comfy muscle tees for work, now.

He _was_ secure in his skin, anyway, until arriving in California. From his tree, Tommy sees how fit all the beachgoers are. More people than yesterday. It’s Thursday, and people must be starting their weekends early. Everyone is so fit and tan. Jesus. Tommy might as well have a sign on his chest that says: NEW IN TOWN; FROM EAST COAST. NEED MORE SUNBLOCK.

Suddenly, Tommy’s walkie-talkie crackles to life. 

“Breaker-breaker one-nine – or whatever people say…” 

“Yes, Lovett?”

“Got a real specimen of a man over on my end. Set his towel right in front of my tree.”

“Obviously that means you should marry him.”

“Maybe I should. He’s blond.”

“Tommy’s blond.”

Tommy cut in awkwardly. “I’m - I’m blondish, at best.”

“This guy is blond-blond,” Lovett’s voice comes through the walkie in Tommy’s hand. “He’s also tan - a little too tan, like a Ken doll from 1985. His punch card for the tanning salon is definitely full.”

“Thought Governor Porter banned tanning salons?” Jon asks. 

“Oh please, you know there’s underground ones. Fuckin’ LA county is full of tanning speakeasies.”

Tommy chuckles to himself, scanning his patch of beach all the while. If this is what work is gonna be like, he’s never going to be bored again.

He also senses that closeness between both Jons that sets his imagination into overdrive. 

Jon, through the walkie, updates Lovett and Tommy on the status of their new life preservers. Tommy didn’t know they were getting new ones, obviously, so he appreciates being included, being talked to already like he’s part of the team. It is going to take a while for him to get used to such good feelings. 

“Psst! Hey!” a pleasant woman’s voice calls Tommy’s attention. Tommy turns his head and beside his tree are two girls, probably in their twenties, a blonde and a brunette, wearing sundresses and carrying beach totes.

“Hello,” Tommy waves to them.

“Are you the new guy?” the blonde asks. 

“Um. Yes,” Tommy laughs. “I am. How do you -”

“We’re friends with Jon. And Lovett. And all of their friends,” she laughs. “I’m Emily, this is Hanna.”

“Hi,” the brunette named Hanna says. 

“Hey. I’m Tommy.”

“How do you like it here?” Emily asks. 

Tommy grins. “It’s great. Feels a little too good to be true, not gonna lie.” 

“I know what you mean,” Emily smiles. “Anyway, we were wondering if you wanted to come to Jon’s birthday party tonight.”

“It’s his birthday?” Tommy’s jaw drops. “He didn’t say anything.”

“He never does. He’s weird about being celebrated,” Emily rolls her eyes. 

“We’re throwing him a sort-of party that’s sort-of a surprise at our favorite bar,” Hanna adds. 

“Ah,” Tommy nods. That explains why Lovett didn’t say anything about Jon’s birthday in the car earlier, too. “Yeah I’m down. What bar?”

“The Crooked Tavern,” Emily puts her sunglasses on. “On Main Street.”

Tommy passed that bar on his stroll downtown last night. It’s a few blocks from his apartment above the cafe. “Oh, I know where that is!”

The girls smile up at him. Hanna asks, “Have you been?”

“No, I uh - I’ve only been in town since Monday,” Tommy admits. 

“Holy shit!” Emily says. “Well, we’ll have to learn all about you tonight. Seven o’clock!”

“Alright,” Tommy replies. “I’ll be there.”

Hanna and Emily make sure to get Tommy’s phone number before bidding him farewell. They make their way towards Jon’s tower, arms linked, and stop to talk to him for a while. 

Just before his lunch break, Tommy gets to use his whistle for the first time – to politely scold someone for bringing a huge surfboard and trying to surf on the modest waves close to shore. Tommy explains that this wasn’t a surfing beach; it’s a family and wading beach. A few miles down you can find a section that’s set aside for surfing. What he doesn’t say is that a huge, rock-hard surfboard like that could easily lop a child’s head off, but it’s implied. 

Tommy realizes after that that he forgot lunch again. He isn’t about to radio Jon, to mooch from him again. He decides to go visit Lovett. 

Lovett’s lunch wasn’t until about one o’clock. Tommy walks all the way down to his post, passing Jon’s on the way, waving at him. “Going to see Lovett!” Tommy shouts. Jon just smiles and gives him a thumbs up. 

The tepid breeze and hot sun combo gives Tommy goosebumps as he walks down the beach. He turns his nantucket red Sox cap around so it’s not backwards anymore, the bill helping shield his eyes from the sun. 

When Tommy approaches Lovett, Lovett is talking to himself. He’s staring into space after pausing typing on his iPhone. “...no, that’s not good. That’s not a good hook. People would walk out…”

“Hey!” Tommy greets him. 

“Oh. Hey, Tommy,” Lovett puts his phone in a little cubby hanging from the edge of his tree. 

“Whatcha doing?” 

“I was uh…” Lovett trails off, then recants. “Oh, might as well tell you. I was working on my comedy routine.”

“Cool. Like, stand up?”

“Yeah,” Lovett shifts in his seat. Tommy stands at the foot of his lifeguard outpost with his hands on his hips, staring up at him. It’s a pretty picture, Tommy thinks. A strong man with curly hair under a pink umbrella. _Okay, Vietor, calm down._

“I’m working on an opener,” Lovett continues. “Which is the hardest part.”

“Why not, ‘hey, thanks for coming out tonight!’” Tommy suggests. 

“Okay, smart stuff. I mean, the joke after that,” Lovett’s tone drips with sarcasm, but he’s smiling at Tommy all the while. 

Tommy listens to him explain different types of jokes and comedy for a while. Tommy only half-understands what he means. Most people probably aren’t going to care about what kind of comic Lovett is, only that he’s funny. Maybe the people in the local comedy scene will care, but the people who are gonna fill seats every night don’t. Tommy thinks Lovett worries a little too much about what people think of him. But he can’t blame him, because Tommy’s the same way. 

Finally, Tommy gets around to what he originally came here for. 

“So - I met Emily and Hanna a little bit ago,” Tommy says. 

Lovett’s jaw drops and his hands fly to his head, on top of his hat. “Oh! That’s right I was supposed to tell you about the party! Phew, glad they’re keeping us in line.”

Tommy laughs. “Yeah, they filled me in. They seem really nice.”

“Yeah, they’re like our preppy lesbian moms. Not in like, a patronizing way or anything. I’m bad at words today,” Lovett rests his chin in his hand, looking down at Tommy. 

“Relax, I know what you mean.” Tommy realizes his lunch break is almost up. He could easily stay here and chat with Lovett some more. It’s easy, like Tommy figured out talking with Jon is. Almost too easy. What’s the catch? How is Tommy going to know if they’re like this with everyone and not just him? And what does he do about the fact that he just wants to keep talking with them once he starts?

Tommy tells Lovett something corny and lame about how he is good with words and his stand up routine will come together perfectly. Tommy doesn’t remember what he says exactly – it comes out rushed, over the roar of the ocean and his own beating heart.

The day ends without any major incidents. When Tommy and the Jons’ shift ends, they’re taken over by the part-timers – probably because Elijah, Travis, and Priyanka wanted to attend Jon’s birthday party tonight. The part timers are all women whose day job is at a women’s rights law firm. Man, Tommy thinks, is literally everyone in this town super cool?

Tommy drops the Jons off at their apartment, and he and Lovett share a knowing look that they’ll see each other again in a few hours. 

Back at his apartment above the cafe, Tommy spends an absurd amount of time deciding what to wear. He’s never given two shits about what he wears to see friends at bars before, but lo and behold, another new thing in his new life. He holds up a light blue button down and khaki shorts on himself in front of his long mirror. He scrunches up his face - it’s not bad, but it’s not good either. Tommy searches his closet for something more interesting. 

He finds a short-sleeve button down, navy with tiny pink flamingos all over it, that he’s only worn once before. Tommy holds it up against the shorts. He smiles. That’s more interesting. He also decides to break in some new boat shoes he bought, because he anticipates lots of people and dancing tonight. Don’t want anyone stepping on his toes, literally. 

Tommy spends a lot of time deciding how nicely combed his hair should be. Once again, he usually doesn’t care! How strange. It should be neat, he thinks, but not too neat. Can’t look like he agonized over it for an hour; can’t look like he’s trying to impress Lovett and Jon –

What the fuck! He hasn’t gotten Jon a present! 

Are they even doing presents? Tommy doesn’t know. Shit. He sits down on the closed toilet in his bathroom and texts Emily: _I didn’t get Jon a present! Are we doing presents? lmk. freaking out lol._

The “...” that shows she’s typing appears almost immediately. 

_No presents, don’t worry,_ Emily’s text says. _Maybe just buy him a drink later!_

Phew. 

Tommy is 100% ready to go at this point, but the party doesn’t start for… two hours. 

So, Tommy watches the news, watches a few innings of a random baseball game. He looks out his window, at the bustling street below, at the rope lights around the trees that line it. So pretty. 

Lovett texts Tommy: _Excited for tonight?_

_Yes!_ Tommy replies. 

A few minutes later, still sitting along his windowsill, Tommy gets a text from Jon. 

_Hey we’re going to the Crooked Tavern on Main tonight if you wanna come. No pressure._

Tommy smiles and purses his lips. All he replies is a restrained: _Okay._

Tommy arrives at the Crooked Tavern at six-thirty in the evening. He just can’t stand sitting in his apartment any longer. The neon signage on the outside of the brick building glows pink, inviting him in. It’s cozy and homey inside, plush seating around tables, dark wood bar and barstools. The theme, oddly enough, seems to be politics – there’s campaign memorabilia on all the walls, from FDR to JFK to Obama and more recent additions like President Kamala Harris and California Governor Katie Porter merch. 

Emily is the first to notice Tommy walk in. “Tommy!”

Tommy smiles and waves as more people say his name from the bar, a few he doesn’t recognize. Tommy goes over to the group. So far: Emily, Hanna, Travis, Elijah, Priyanka, Dan. There’s a woman Tommy hasn’t met yet, and then the bartender who seems like he’s friends with everyone. 

“This is the guy huh?” The bartender asks. 

“Yep, this is Tommy,” Emily says as Tommy takes a seat beside her. She’s standing beside Hanna, who is sitting. They have the closeness of a couple that has been together for a long time.

“What a welcome,” Tommy smiles. Everyone laughs - not at him, but with him. 

“This is Ben,” Emily points to the bartender. “And that’s Tanya, the owner.” 

Tanya, on the other side of Tommy, stirs her drink with a straw. “Hi!”

“Welcome, Tommy,” Ben smiles. 

Ben asks Tommy what he’ll have to drink, and Tommy has whatever local beer is the best. That leads them into asking about the basics of Tommy - where he’s from, why he’s here now, and what he’s checked out yet. Eventually, Tommy gets to listen as everyone recommends him stuff to do in town. It’s not as overwhelming as one would think. Probably because everyone is so nice. And funny. So funny.

Emily’s phone chimes. Her one arm around Hanna’s shoulders, she reaches into the pocket of her dress for her phone.

“Who is it? Is it Lovett?” Hanna asks. 

“It’s Lovett,” Emily grins, dramatically pauses and looks around to the group. “They’re on their way!”

“Everyone hide!” Travis announces from the other end of the bar, huge pint glass of beer in his hand. 

It all happens so fast. Giggling, Emily laughs and pulls Tommy by the wrist. Her, Tommy, and Hanna run around trying to find a good hiding spot that isn’t just behind the bar, but that’s where they end up anyway. Tommy and Emily and Hanna exchange smiles, the knowing looks that come when you’ve known people awhile. Tommy, of course, has only known them for a little over a day, but he feels like he’s known them longer. The two remind him of friends he had in grade school – girls that were the best of friends with him, who made him feel comfortable in his own skin.

Suddenly, they hear the door open. There’s a consensus among everyone to wait a moment, hold out the suspense – and, in a practical sense, make sure it’s actually Lovett and Jon.

Two sets of footsteps wander into the bar. Tommy hears Jon’s voice wonder where everyone is. He doesn’t get far into his statement before Tommy and the whole group jump out from behind the bar.

“Surprise!!!” 

Jon’s jaw drops. Then he grins from ear to ear; then he starts laughing. He pulls Lovett in for a hug - a comfortable hug that lasts several long moments. Lovett closes his eyes. He doesn’t look like he wants to let Jon go, but he does. 

Everyone comes out from behind the bar, besides bartender Ben. People take their turns telling Jon happy birthday. Tommy hangs back, lets the more established friends have a moment first. Tommy notices Tanya go behind the bar and into the back, and she comes out with a cake. She sets it on the bar beside Tommy. Jon comes over, hands on his face in shock. 

“You guys,” Jon shakes his head in disbelief. In the dim light, his face looks different than how Tommy’s seen it in the daytime at work. Less perfect, but more perfect at the same time. Beside Jon, while he’s studying the cake, Lovett beams at him. Lovett then shifts his gaze to Tommy. Tommy’s cheeks feel warm. Tanya lights the candles, which illuminate Jons’ face, pleasant and warm. He looks like a model. 

Everyone sings happy birthday, and Tommy joins in, singing the lower register. It’s a moment that seems to last a long time, where Tommy watches Jon react to everyone’s singing in awe, watches Lovett sing too.

Once Jon blows the candles out - salmon pink against the bright blue frosting of the cake - Tommy faces the fact he’s developed a crush on both of his new coworkers. It hits him so suddenly, as Jon wraps his arms around Lovett and Tommy, pulls them close to him in another half hug. Tommy feels like he’s going to pass out, overwhelmed by the feeling. He tries to push the weight of the realization down and just have fun.

Jon keeps his hand on Tommy’s shoulder for a long moment while Lovett and Tanya start cutting the cake.

“This is so great, you guys. Thank you,” Jon addresses the group of friends at the bar. 

They move to the back to eat their cake, a curved bench seat along the corner. Music starts up, up-tempo indie rock that Tommy likes. Tommy sits between Lovett and Jon. He finds himself listening a lot. Smiling when Lovett and Jon literally talk over him, then rope him into one of their playful arguments as they both try to get him on their side. After a while, all three of them get talking about the political memorabilia on the wall next to their table, and they have an insightful, easy back-and-forth about the differences in how localities have implemented the Green New Deal based on what party holds power in their government. 

“Damn,” Lovett says, taking a sip of his drink. “We should start a podcast.”

Tommy and Jon laugh. 

“Maybe,” Tommy shrugs. 

“Yeah?” Jon looks at them, arm along the back of the seat, close to touching Tommy’s shoulders, his fingers close to brushing Lovett’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Tommy grins. “I mean, why not. Could be fun.”

After that, Emily and Hanna persuade them to dance. 

Tommy is tipsy enough to go with it. He would even if he was sober - he likes dancing. Jon does too, eagerly getting up with the girls. Lovett takes some persuasion. Jon says something to him that Tommy can’t hear before dragging him into the open space between their table and the far end of the bar. 

Tommy stands with Lovett and Jon like they do at work when it’s just them talking, all facing each other. Jon shoves Lovett’s shoulder and tells him to dance.

“You almost made me spill my drink!” Lovett shouts. 

Tommy shoves Lovett’s other shoulder. His drink sloshes a little bit, close to escaping his glass without actually doing so. Lovett meets Tommy’s eyes before finally letting loose, swaying to the music, raising his hands in the air. 

Once they get tired of dancing, Tommy suggests they go to the beach, as normal people rather than lifeguards. That’s how Tommy finds himself in the back of a cab, sandwiched in between Lovett and Jon. No one else wanted to come. Emily pushed Tommy toward the door with a grin and whispered, “Take care of our boys, Tommy.”

Tommy shifts his gaze to either head pillowed on his shoulders. Lovett’s curls, Jon’s dark gelled hair. Once they get to the public beach access, they get out of the cab; Tommy makes sure to tip the driver well. 

“What does one even do on this side of the beach!” Lovett says once they’re walking close to the shore. He throws his arms in the air again like he did when they were dancing, as if he wanted to touch the night sky. 

“I know right?” Jon giggles. “Feels weird!” 

Tommy, walking in between them, pauses to take his shoes off. Sand was getting inside of them, and he didn’t want to get them wet. Lovett and Jon wore flip flops, so they don’t seem fazed. 

“East coast Tommy and his boat shoes,” Jon says.

“Tommy _is_ a boat shoe,” Lovett adds. 

Tommy veers to the side so he can step into the ocean. He reaches down and gets some water in his free hand, flicks it at the other two. 

They walk shoulder-to-shoulder for a while after that. They reach the pier, sparsely populated with people at this time of night. Tommy brushes his feet off the best he can, puts his shoes back on before they step onto the wood planks. He couldn't get all the sand off, and it’s a little uncomfortable at first. Tommy ignores the feeling and focus on the warmth from both men on either side of him instead.

Once they get about halfway down the pier, they stop to rest and lean against the edge. Tommy studies the coastline, dark blue and sparkly. The lights from the town off to the left. The soft commotion of nightlife and ocean waves. Lovett and Jon watch and listen, still on either side of Tommy, their shoulders flush against his, moonlit electricity between them.

Normally, in this situation, Tommy would reach for his crush’s hand. The fact that there’s two people he has a crush on makes things a little hard to calculate. Tommy turns his head to look at both brown-eyed boys. He couldn’t choose between them, ever. Tommy’s heart thunders in his chest as he realizes the predicament he’s put himself in. It’s so much, so soon. Didn’t he vow to himself not to let this happen? He should not have let himself develop a crush on either of them, and definitely not the intense feelings he has felt all night. 

Jon must notice Tommy stiffen up. “You all right, Tom?” 

Tommy swallows hard. “I - I just don’t feel good all of a sudden.”

“Oh no, too much fun,” Lovett frowns. 

“We’ll call you a cab -” 

Tommy cuts Jon off. “No, I’ll get it, I don’t want to ruin your night.” 

With that, Tommy walks away, his head spinning and ears ringing. It’s almost an out of body experience. He walks so quickly, and doesn’t look back once. 

He walks the whole way back to his apartment above the cafe, about a mile and a half of blurred streetlights. The warm breeze feels cold now. 

As soon as he’s in his room, he strips himself out of his clothes and crawls into bed. 

Tommy wakes up to the sun in his eyes. He throws his arm over his eyes to shield himself. He doesn’t have a headache - he didn’t drink that much last night - but he does feel...bad. Tommy rolls over to grab his phone off his nightstand.

Both Lovett and Jon sent him “Feel better!” texts. Further down is a message from Emily. It’s a photo of Tommy, Lovett, and Jon last night, dancing, facing each other, close and intimate. They all look so happy, with the biggest smiles, their faces flushed pink and eyes bright. 

The picture certainly doesn’t help Tommy’s lovesick feeling. 

_Hey_, Tommy replies to Emily, _can I ask you for some advice?_

Emily meets Tommy in the cafe below his apartment. She says Hanna would’ve come, but she got caught up at work. Emily excitedly asks Tommy if he had fun last night. 

“I did, I did!” Tommy smiles at her as she takes a sip of her latte. Tommy has a mug of tea that he’s been dunking the bag into for over five minutes now. He is always a fidgeter, but especially when he’s nervous. 

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”

“It’s just -” Tommy cuts himself off, looking up at all the pretty people bustling in the cafe, putting their sunglasses up on the crowns of their heads as soon as they come in the door, looking up at the menu like people do. 

“What, Tommy?” Emily looks him over sympathetically. 

“I think I have a crush on Jon. And Lovett. Both of them.” 

“Ah,” Emily nods. “I thought so.”

Tommy sighs. “So what do I do! I haven’t liked a guy in so long - or guys, I guess. There’s no way both of them are into me. Shit, could I even date both of them?”

Tommy puts his head in his hands. Emily reaches out, puts her hand on Tommy’s forearm. She laughs, a light bird-like chuckle, as if Tommy were amusing. 

“Tommy. It’s okay! You wanna know something?” 

Lifting his head up, Tommy raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“They absolutely adore you.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes!” Emily laughs. “We have a group chat, and they will not shut up about you in it. It’s honestly driving me and Han a little crazy.”

Tommy finally takes a sip of his tea. “What um - what do they say?” 

“Oh let me see,” Emily taps and scrolls on her iPhone. “Here - ‘he’s so handsome it pains me’ - that was Lovett. Jon said, ‘he’s like the boy next door in every romantic comedy. I want him.’”

Tommy couldn’t help but cover his face. His heartbeat picked up significantly, just from hearing those comments. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“No!” Emily replies. “I swear. See!” She shoves her phone in Tommy’s face. 

“Okay, okay,” Tommy laughs and pushes her away. “So, they like me - what do we do about it?”

Emily shrugs and picks up her latte with two hands. “I think you should all date.”

“You mean all three of us?”

“Yes, Tommy - man, you’re all so dense. I swear there’s nothing in those handsome heads of yours.” 

Tommy had never been in a three person relationship before. He never really considered it as an option. Now that someone has given him permission to have that option, he could see it for himself. Especially if it would be with Jon and Jon. 

“But what about them - they like each other, don’t they?” Tommy speaks in a hushed voice, as if either Jon could walk in at any second. 

“They are stupidly in love with each other!” Emily replies. “We’ve been trying to get them together forever but nothing seems to work. Honestly, I thought shoving you all out of the bar last night was enough of a hint but I guess not.”

Tommy laughs under his breath, incredulous. First, it’s nice to know the tension he observed between Lovett and Jon was true. Second, this is something they can do, if the Jons want it - dating, being more than friends. The Jons like each other, and they both like Tommy, and Tommy likes them. Likes them a lot, like a schoolboy crush but way way worse. 

“This might be a good time to reveal that I ditched them at the pier last night because I got scared,” Tommy says. 

Emily gasps. “Tommy.”

“But - this conversation has helped a lot. Thank you.”

Tommy and Emily get up at the same time to embrace each other. Tommy is really thankful for her. He’s only known her for a few days and he already knows they’re going to be close friends. 

“I think I should - I think I should ask them to go to the pier again tonight. Do over.”

Emily smiles. “I think you should, too.”

Over text, Tommy asks Lovett and Jon to go out that evening for another walk on the beach. They agree immediately and both say they’ll meet Tommy there. 

Tommy gets to the start of the pier first. It’s a bustling Saturday night and the sun is low in the sky. He nervously fidgets while waiting for the Jons. Finally, he sees them walking towards him, almost as if they appeared out of thin air. Tommy grins and waves at them. The butterflies in his stomach are back, but it’s not a bad feeling. 

They start walking immediately, Tommy in the middle just like last night. Tommy apologizes for last night.

“I, um - I wasn’t feeling sick. Well, physically. I was just - scared. I like you guys. So much,” Tommy explains. He is bad at words right now, his ability to speak lost. 

“You’re fine, Tommy,” Lovett replies.

Jon says, “I like you, too.”

“Yeah, me too. A lot,” Lovett murmurs. 

Tommy smiles at both of them. It really does feel like a do-over of last night, but it’s different. He can see clearer. He’s letting himself feel his big feelings instead of pushing them down. 

They get closer to the end of the pier before stopping and taking a break, standing in line along the railing. They look out at the beach where they live and work, that has become home for Tommy in only a week. Truth be told, it isn’t just the beach that is home. It’s the two men on either side of him. 

Tommy reaches for both Lovett and Jon’s hands at the same time. 

Neither of them flinch away. They simply look at Tommy, clasp their warm, suntanned hands around his. Tommy looks between them, and they gaze at each other. Jon threads his fingers with Tommy’s first, his long and elegant fingers. Lovett’s hands are smaller than Tommy’s, which is very obvious when he threads his fingers with Tommy’s. They squeeze Tommy’s hands, one after the other. 

They walk leisurely up the rest of the pier pier, Tommy holding their hands still. On the way back down, Jon insists on being in the middle. Tommy notices the long look both Jons share when Jon takes Lovett’s hand. Like Emily said, they’d been holding it back. How strange, how different to be the precipitating factor for them to finally make this move. Perhaps it was fate, part of the reason for Tommy being here. 

After the pier, they stroll along the beach. Tommy finds himself looking around on the beach, like he’s on patrol, until Lovett yanks on his hand and smiles at him. Tommy smiles back. Jon starts telling a story from when he and Lovett first met.

Once it’s late and they tire of walking, Tommy calls another cab to take them home, instructing the driver to drop Lovett and Jon off at their apartment building first. Only a few days of doing that for work and Tommy has gotten used to seeing them off. 

They sit in the back with Lovett in the middle this time, both Jon and Tommy leaning into him. Every permutation seems to work, Tommy thinks. They all fit together, in equal measure. 

Once they reach their apartment building, both Jons seem to have some regret about having to part from Tommy. Jon reaches for Tommy’s hand and squeezes it tight, while Lovett just smiles at Tommy, closed-mouthed. Tommy wants to go up with them, but he knows they’re all tired.

Plus, it’s not like they’re never going to see each other again. 

Tommy tells them goodnight, that he’ll text them. They get out of the car, and Tommy watches them descend down the path he’s become so familiar with by now, hand in hand under the moonlight. 

Tommy wakes up to his phone buzzing. He’s getting a call from Lovett. Tommy’s heart thunders - who calls people? Is something wrong?

Tommy answers. “Hello?”

“Hey, Tommy. Hey - me and Jon were wondering, do you, uh, do you want to go to brunch?” Lovett asks.

Tommy takes a deep breath. Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is right. He looks out his apartment window, at the golden sun filtering in through the cream-colored curtain. 

“Yeah,” Tommy says. “Just us?”

Lovett laughs a little. “Yeah. Just us.”

They take things slow - mostly because it’s so magical to do so. Tommy likes figuring out something new about the Jons every day, and they seem to enjoy the same. 

Emily and Hanna are their biggest cheerleaders. Emily keeps wanting to know when their first kiss is going to be, and how the mechanics of a first kiss for a three person relationship even work. Tommy can’t help but think about it after that. He really wants to do it, but knows he has to just let it happen organically, like everything else has so far. It’s a fine line to walk – wanting to advance things, but wanting to let them happen on their own at the same time. Tommy decides to just listen to his heart, as corny as that is to say in these conversations with Emily. 

Tommy’s second week of work - their second week together - Tommy feels the tension building. He feels it as the Jons practically run to get into Tommy’s car in the morning. He feels it when he visits them on his lunch break. He feels it when they banter on the walkie-talkie. He feels it when he helps Lovett work on his stand up routine. 

On a physical level, Tommy feels his desire for them both grow exponentially when the Jons do stuff like jog on the beach, yell at beachgoers who don’t abide by the rules. Basically, when Tommy sees them do their job. They’re both extremely hot, what can Tommy say? Tommy catches them staring at him too, which is fun.

When Thursday rolls around, Tommy feels like he’s been at this beach, in this town for a long, long time. It’s a busy day at the beach, and he finds himself blowing his whistle a ton. It’s getting even hotter, and more and more people are swimming. Tommy has to yell at so many people for going too far out - some even beyond the clearly marked buoys. He leaves his perch to do so, running down to the water so people know he means business. Despite this, it’s quite the relaxing day. There’s a nice breeze that rustles the sleeves of Tommy’s thin white long-sleeved t-shirt, cooling him down. 

After lunch, there’s a Dodgers game on the radio, and Tommy listens, chatting with Jon about the plays every so often over walkie-talkie. Lovett interrupts to complain about how he doesn’t understand baseball. 

“I’ll teach you,” Tommy says. 

“Ha! Good luck with that,” Jon retorts. 

On the drive home, they discuss things they could do, places they could go out together that night. They don’t decide on anything. Nothing really sounds interesting. Tommy is so tired; they all are. 

Tommy pulls up to the Jons’ apartment building in the hot late afternoon sun, feeling sad at having to say goodbye to them. 

Jon glances back at Lovett, in the backseat as usual. Silent communication.

“Welp. Maybe see you guys this weekend?” Tommy sighs. 

There’s a beat of silence. Jon stares at Tommy like he just said something untoward. 

“Tommy.”

“Tommy,” Lovett echoes, equally exasperated. 

“What?” Tommy raises his eyebrows. 

“Come up with us,” Jon says. 

“Yeah, turn this godforsaken car off,” Lovett adds with a smirk. 

Tommy purses his lips, trying not to laugh - both out of utter happiness and disbelief as to how he got so lucky. He turns the car off and they all clamor out. 

Tommy joins Lovett and Jon on the path he’s seen them walk so many times now, their arms criss-crossing against his lower back. They go up to Jon’s apartment, on the second floor. Jon unlocks the door, holding it open for Lovett and then Tommy to step into. Jon catches Tommy’s wrist while Lovett bounds in, clearly familiar with the space. Jon doesn’t say anything, just grins. Tommy grins back, cheeks growing warm. All those times he thought they could all read each other’s minds, Tommy feels certain they can now. 

As Jon shuts the door, his eyes say it all – _you belong here. We belong together._

_Yes_, Tommy agrees. _A million times, yes_.


End file.
